User blog:Deylen/Shado-Pan Guild
As I've vaguely mentioned before, I plan on starting a Shado-Pan based guild. I'd like to give people interested in the guild some time to consider their characters, and to get an idea of what the guild itself will actually be like. If it goes well, I'll be making this guild the focus of my attention during Mists of Pandaria. Of course, I'll host other events and RP other characters. Your Character I'm not too fond of limiting people's characters for the purpose of a guild, but I think it's for the better when it comes to the Shado-Pan. I'd like to remind everyone that just because I'm starting a Shado-Pan guild doesn't mean I want to see everyone roleplaying them. They're a more complex and limited role than most, albeit an interesting one. They're suited for a guild environment, and part of the guild, like Rise of the Horde, will be to help flesh out your character and RP them. That being said, if you plan on joining this guild from the start, your character will have to meet some criteria. The guild will have a brief prologue that takes place three years before Mists of Pandaria begins. To join the guild during the prologue, I ask that your character fit some criteria: As of the prologue, three years before Mists of Pandaria... 1. They are eighteen years old, give or take. 2. They, like all Shado-Pan, have been training with the order since their teenage (or possibly childhood) years. 3. They are not yet a full-fledged Shado-Pan. 4. They have not yet chosen their discipline. (Wu-Kao, Omnia, or Blackguard) 5. They are a pandaren born and raised in Pandaria. Other races, or pandaren from the Wandering Isle, would never be able to become Shado-Pan. The only exceptions to these rules will be officers in the guild. If you're interested in being an officer, contact me on Skype (biggrouse7) or wait until the server is up. I'd only like for there to be a few, in addition to myself of course. I am hoping to play an active IC role in the guild. If you have a pre-existing Shado-Pan character that you've RPed elsewhere, I might make an except about meeting the criteria. Talk to me on Skype. If you're interested in the guild, I suggest that you join during prologue. Shado-Pan in General I mentioned earlier that I think Shado-Pan are a more complex role than most. You're certainly free to roleplay one outside of my guild. Freedom is one of the core values of RPH. Whether you're going to join my guild or not, I'd like for everyone to keep several things in mind about the Shado-Pan. The Shado-Pan are uncharacteristically grim for pandaren. If you think this is odd, keep in mind that a key value of pandaren philosophy is balance -- light and dark. Most pandaren, prior to the Alliance and Horde arriving, lived carefree and peaceful lives for the most part. To balance that out, there were the Shado-Pan. They took on a terrible burden to preserve the peace of Pandaria and the safety of the pandaren people. Shado-Pan aren't cruel or unfriendly by any means, but their training centers around fighting against the Sha. The Sha feast on negative emotions, and even positive emotions can lead to negative emotions. Shado-Pan training teaches a pandaren to set their feelings aside. Due to their training, Shado-Pan are generally cold, disciplined, and loyal. The Shado-Pan are selected at a fairly young age; usually teenagers, but sometimes children. Joining them is a completely voluntary action. They do not conscript. The Shado-Pan are clear to their trainees that there is no turning back, and that they may not come out alive. The Trial of Red Blossoms, essentially the entrance exam to the Shado-Pan, is deadly. Recruits are given several chances to turn back, but once they enter the Trial they have pledged themselves to the Shado-Pan. Keeping all of that in mind, a Shado-Pan is unlikely to be cheery, excessively friendly, rebellious, or undisciplined. Likewise, they are just as unlikely to be cruel, violent, rude, or vicious. The perfect Shado-Pan is disciplined and emotionless. If you're looking for a rough comparison, think the Night's Watch from Game of Thrones, the Jedi in Star Wars, or even the Grey Wardens from Dragon Age. They exist to fight against a terrible evil, and have a strict code in how they do so. I don't mean to imply that Shado-Pan are robotic; there's plenty of room for them to have personality so long as they behave well. The Shado-Pan are the only standing army of Pandaria, and the closest thing they have to a government. The pandaren are largely decentralized save for the Shado-Pan. While certain pandaren may have thrown their lot in with the Alliance or the Horde, the Shado-Pan are strictly neutral. They are only concerned with fighting off the Sha, yaungol mogu, and mantid. They may work with the Alliance or the Horde, but are likely not fond of them for bringing trouble to Pandaria. But they would never fight the Alliance or the Horde (though perhaps the latter in the later patches of MoP) and certainly not pick a side in the conflict between the two factions. Likewise, a Shado-Pan is very unlikely to leave Pandaria. Only two reasons for them leaving come to my mind at the moment. 1. Hunting down someone Sha-corrupted, someone using a Sha artifact, or perhaps a war criminal of sorts. 2. Protecting important pandaren, such as ambassadors or the like. They may be involved in diplomacy, but they're likely not the diplomats themselves. Other than those two, I really can't think of a reason for Pandaren to leave Pandaria. The only RPs they'll really fit in are ones directed at fighting the Sha, mogu, yaungol, or mantid. They could fit into town/village RPs in Pandaria as well, so long as they have a good reason to be in the area. Above all else, I'd like to stress the fact that they are very unlikely to leave Pandaria. How you roleplay your character is up to you. I would just like to provide you with the knowledge to do it in a way that is, in my eyes, correct and better for everyone. Back to the Guild Like I said before, my Shado-Pan guild will begin three years before Mists of Pandaria. There will be a few events in this time, intended to introduce you to the Shado-Pan both IC and OOC. Your character is on the verge of finally becoming a full Shado-Pan. IC, your character will be prepared to defend Pandaria against the Sha. OOC, I will give you an idea of how to RP a Shado-Pan through IC interaction, and give you time to develop and introduce your character to guildmates rather than jumping straight into Mists of Pandaria. I will still recruit for the guild after the prologue, of course, and you're free to wait until after it's finished before joining the guild. If you join after the prologue, you won't have to meet the criteria mentioned earlier. I still do ask, however, that your Shado-Pan isn't high-ranking. Ranks will be a thing in the guild, and will be mostly an IC matter rather than an OOC one (save for officers during the prologue; that's an entirely OOC affair) The guild's ranks will be made up of mostly Shado-Pan, though I may make a few exceptions as time goes on and the Shado-Pan are more willing to work with outsiders. Just remember that the only people who will ever be accepted into the actual order are mainland pandaren who aren't adults yet. I intend for the guild to be a bit 'harsh'. Character death will be a possibility based on IC actions. I do not look forward to killing people's characters, but IC action will result in IC consequence. Sha corruption in particular will play a major role in certain events after the prologue. If your character does not stay true to the Shado-Pan training, bad things will happen. But when we're not fighting Sha? The events will probably be like most of my other events, if you're familiar with them. Injury and death are always a possibility, but the latter is only likely in extreme situations. The idea of the guild is to provide Shado-Pan RPers with something to base their character around without completely excluding them from other events. I aim to make the guild less of a phased, private experience and intergrate it more with the world around us. I hope to involve us in other peoples' events, as well, so long as they are willing. Likewise, Rise of the Horde and Black Phoenix Offensive were just me hosting private events, but certain Shado-Pan events will be open to non-guild members, and guild members will have the freedom to go to other events so long as it makes sense, IC. Going to an Orgrimmar tavern RP, for example, will probably result in a stern OOC warning. But it's perfectly plausible to say that your character was sent to help a group of humans deal with a mogu problem, just as an example. There are plenty of possibilities. As for non-guild member attending events, it depends on the event. The Shado-Pan may accept aid when fighting the mogu, but they may not trust outsiders enough to battle the Sha with them. Rather than restrict characters like I have in my past guilds (which was done out of necessity and desire to cultivate a consistent plotline), I am hoping to provide more freedom for anyone in my guild. Someone in Rise of the Horde obviously couldn't go to a RP in modern Azeroth, and someone in Black Phoenix couldn't go to most roleplays because they were in Deylen's army and stuck in Kul Tiras. That won't be a problem in this guild. Wrapping it Up... Well, I've said everything that comes to mind at the moment. I may add more later. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the guild, feel free to leave a comment. If you have any questions about Shado-Pan or their lore, feel free to ask as well. Since the server isn't up, nothing about the guild is finalized. These are ideas that I've had for a while that I'd just like for the community to know. Everything is subject to change, and any suggestions or feedback will be taken seriously. If you have any questions about the server, please direct yourself here. Category:Blog posts